I mentioned something about this in another post but that post became more of people trying to help me find a good neighborhood to live in.

Anyway i'm moving to Cali in FEB of 2007. I was wondering how strict they are on people who modify there cars.

My tC is turbocharged and i don'y plan on taken it out. I will be in CALI for only 2 yrs yo finish skool and have a good time so i will keep my Illinois plates for added insurance on getting out of some tickets.

How much are tickets like that?

I have not cats just a staight pipe exhaust with HKS axle back.

 

hmmm.... I wouldn't worry too much as long as the car stays registered in Illinois. Cops could pull you over and maybe write a ticket but that's only if ur driving stupid or something. The best thing I would suggest is to have a good alarm system, there's a lotta haters with no cash.

 

Cali cops blow ___, but as long as your respectful then you should be good, just don't do anything stupid

 

The whold deal would be that you would have to turn your car back to stock and take it to a smog referee--that is if you had Cal plates and got caught with non CARB product on the car. There is currently no header or intake legal in CA for the tC. Keep the IL plates and keep the car registered.

 

In California you have to smog every two years. Unless it's brand new then it's only till after 4 years, then 2 years thereafter.

When you get the letter from the DMV to smog your car it'll be one of two choices.
a) take it to whatever smog station you want to
b) take it to a "smog only" station which does not do repairs.

The smog only stations are tougher. And they'll look for anything and everything that is illegal. The regular smog stations are a toss up. Some will check for CARB stickers for any components that you added and others, like the one I usually go to, just check to see if you have cats and pass the test with no check engine lights.

I have to smog my Impala SS this week and I got the "smog only" letter. Normally it passes smog fine with the aftermarket intake. So I have to return my intake to stock before I take it in. Then swap it back. This is the first time I have to take it to a smog only station and it's been 10 years.

 

Just find some place in a ghetto ___ area, that will smog ur tC and not care that u have a supercharger in it lol EAST LA COUGH COUGH lol jk

 

heh.. there are MANY MANY smog shops in san bernadino that'll pass it and all they want is a green piece of paper with the letters 5 and 0 on it.. close together if you catch what I'm saying..

 

new cars don't have to be smogged until they're 4 years old in CA

not sure with cars, but motorcycles coming into CA have to have like 6500 miles or something on them before they can be registered. Not sure the reasoning other than to keep people from saving money by buying a bike out of state cheaper. CA bikes are supposedly "50 state" bikes.

A call to the DMV or visit to their website should clear this up rather easily.

 

just to fyi...its now 6 yrs not 4 yrs for smogin a vechile and for to do a transfer into cali if it has cali emissions it'll be fine doesnt matter about the mileage...

Bry Marvelous Scions

 

gotta love ghetto smog shops

 

he's turbo'd, not SC'd. And the SC is smog legal anyway....which is why Toyota devloped a SC rather than a turbo.

Here is the info for smog checks in great "DMV language" that makes you think instead of making sense.

Oh, and BTW, your car will get owned.

$1500 missing first cat
$1500 missing second cat
Running a straight pipe which I assume is incredibly & ridiculously loud = pop the hood.

I wouldn't drive that thing anywhere without trying to tone down the exhaust
(That is if it's loud as heck anyway)

 

i dunno, even if u have out of state plates on it if u do happen to get pulled over and they pop ur hood its over. they don't care if ur from out of town here, they'll just tell u u shoulda checked the local laws before u drove ur car here in cali. turbo = no no here. u might as well give the cops here some viagra cause they gonna get a woody when they see ur turbo system.

 

Coming from a different world, in a different car -- before the XB. I can tell you this:

Regardless of your plates:

1. Driving in California is a privelege not a right. (People forget this all the time)
2. Tampering / Removing smog equipt on a vehicle is not a moving violation -- its an infraction and could be looked at as a misdermeanor.
3. It doesnt matter where your car comes from, you are in california now, and are subject to california laws. Period.
4. If you are caught, and it can happen. The good thing is, your car isnt elligble for smog. You won't have to do that. It was not bought in california -- I do not believe it was California Car (you didnt have to pay for California Emissions equipt). So your pretty much in the clear, right?
WRONG: You must then aquire a 1 day permit and get that car out of california per: Heal and Safety Code Section 43151(A)
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/app...af/hs43151.htm

In short, throw some silencers on the fartcans and hope if you do get pulled over you have a good story and they dont pop your hood. Though, you can always say no, and refuse the search -- at which point they need a court order to search your vehicle and specifically state what they are looking for -- and most beat cops don't know what they are looking for -- so they generally don't do it. Its a roll of the dice if you ask me.

 

he is turbo'd... so his exhaust will not be as loud as you think

 

I thought that as long as it is legal in its registered state, you are ok. Iowa requires a front plate. If you are from a state that doesn't even issue front plates, how can they write you a ticket for something like that. Same with cars. If you are legal in the registered state, they can't expect you to take your car back to stock just to "pass through" Cali.

 

straight pipe with no cats/resonators dude? I would assume it'd be loud enough to be noticeable....

 

^^ doesnt matter.. the judge will just say "ignorance isnt an excuse"... just like the fact that in california, you can make a right turn on a red light.. yet other states you cant..so if you go to another state and make a right turn on a red and get rolled and say "well in cali you can..blah blah" the cop will just be like "you arent in cali are you?"

 

good luck on moving here with your turbo'd tC!

 

The idea is that you are not in that state any more. In california, you have to abide by california traffic regulations. In Iowa, you must abide by Iowa rules.There are grace periods and such, and alot of it is up to the offciers discression -- but honestly, SMOG is a huge issue in cali and cops will stop at nothing to bust you for SMOG violations -- if *they think* you have some SMOG issue. The funny part is, Cops equate SMOG violation to....noise. Its sad, but funny.

 

If he is not a permanant resident in california he will get away with it most likely. I know people that moved here a while back from other states that didnt have ANY smog device on their trucks. As long as they had their truck registered in their home state it was fine. The second you register your car in cali..THATS when you get hosed. Then you are required to adapt you car to California state laws. So in other words...LEAVE YOU PLATES ALONE AND STAY REGISTERED IN CHI TOWN!!!!! Then all will be okay.